UPDATE: Don’t forget to join the Summer Bash and enter the giveaway before midnight CDT. There you might win a copy of Of Dangers and Dreams, which includes my dire wolf story. https://www.facebook.com/events/914301054738888/990916297077363/
Hi, Summer Bash guests! Party crashers are welcome, too.
For those of you who followed me for a while, you may already be familiar with what I write. However, let me share more about my writing journey by answering Who, What, Where, How, and Why questions.
WHO am I?
I’m K.A. Ramstad (of course), a creator of fantasy and fairy tale retellings. I write for children, middle grade, and teens, and you’ll see me write a review on a picture or middle grade book every once in a while.
WHAT got me into writing?
While I have enjoyed writing stories since I was a kid, what helped me launch into the career of writing was, of all things, reading a fanfiction story. It was a fun gender bended retelling of Sleeping Beauty (where it’s the prince who’s sleeping), and it got me intrigued with the idea of writing tales.
Reading, as well as watching movies, fed my love for stories in general. Additionally, the book God of the Fairy Tale by Jim Ware opened my eyes to see that even secular stories like Cinderella illustrate God’s truths without being on-the-nose. With Cinderella, she was a girl who went from rags to riches, just as Jesus started His life on earth in poverty but now rules as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. How cool is that?
WHERE did I learn more about the craft of storytelling?
I became a member of Realm Makers, a Christian group where authors get together virtually and learn from each other. I even joined a critique group through them. Let me tell you, when I shared my writing with my critique partners, I realized I had a lot to learn when it comes to creating a novel. It isn’t just slapping words onto a page and thinking you wrote something interesting. It’s called art for a reason. So, I took my critique-ers’ suggestions and improved my art.
But critique groups aren’t the only way of developing one’s writing, which leads to the next question.
HOW did I improve further?
Did I mention Realm Makers’ has a conference? I attended three of their conferences online, and they’re the best writing events I’ve attended. There’s so much rich information they offer you, and they’re taught by well-known authors like Nadine Brandes, Steve Laube, Kathy Tyers, Steven James, and more.
Oh, and there’s always writing books. The ones I recommend are:
Story Trumps Structure by Steven James
Carla Hoch’s Fight Write books (if you’re interested in writing believable fight scenes)
Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi’s Thesaurus series (The Emotion Thesaurus, The Positive Trait Thesaurus, The Emotional Wound Thesaurus, etc.)
5 Editors Tackle the 12 Fatal Flaws of Fiction Writing by C.S. Lakin, Linda S. Clare, Christy Distler, Robin Patchen, and Rachel Starr Thomson
WHY do I write fairy tale retellings?
There’s something about fairy tales that tend to stick with me, particularly their plots involving:
Heroes and heroines braving dangers.
Characters being redeemed and experiencing unconditional love.
People rising up from deathlike sleep.
It’s especially awesome that they’re retold in a way that allows me to experience them in a fresh way.
I discovered Beyond the Bookery, a publisher that releases fairy tale retellings, through Liv Hammonds’ blog. It was that post that announced openings for writers to submit their works. I couldn’t pass the opportunity, and I happened to have a story at the back of my head that would turn into a fairy tale. That story became “Friend of the Dire Wolf,” and it’s a Little Red Riding Hood story that’s now in the anthology Of Dangers and Dreams.
So, if you’re looking for publishers for your story, search the Internet. Even use keywords like “fairy tale [or whatever genre] submission.” You’ll never know what you’ll find.
Bonus Question: What’s next for me?
I’m now writing a middle grade fantasy that’ll be released in December. It’s an Ugly Duckling retelling, where the main character is a pup adopted by a family of stray dogs. The problem is, she’s different from her littermates. She jumps in the snow in a funny way, and her fur turns gray during the summer, causing her littermates to tease her. Not only that, but someone ventured to say she’s actually a fox. Is it true?
In the end, she finds a new family and discovers she has a superpower. What is that superpower? This Elf on a Shelf clip gives a clue.
The fox creating the Northern Lights is from Finnish mythology. However, with my MC, I have her just create the blue light, and other foxes contribute to the Northern Lights with their colors. As you can imagine, these foxes are a fellowship and a family.
How does the MC view humans? She isn’t sure of them at first, but she finds some who are not only nice but also enjoy her unique quirks.
Whew! That’s a lot I just shared. I hope you had fun during the Bash, and enjoy the rest of your summer.
K.A. Ramstad 